The Commentariat -- March 17, 2019

Afternoon Update:

Bigot-in-Chief Doubles Down. Brian Stelter of CNN: "Jeanine Pirro, whose show did not air on Saturday night, was suspended by Fox News after her widely criticized commentary doubting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's patriotism, according a source familiar with the matter.... On Sunday morning the president ... tweet[ed], 'Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well.'... Fox did not announce the suspension publicly. The network declined to confirm or deny that Pirro has been suspended. There is no word on whether Pirro's show will return next week. At the same time, there is no indication that she has been fired from Fox. The source said she has not been fired. Pirro is one of the network's highest-rated weekend hosts, well known for her vehement defenses of ... Donald Trump and attacks against his perceived enemies." ...

      ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump knows what he is doing. This is another appeal to Islamophobes & white supremacists in general. And once again he's coy enough about it to enjoy barely-plausible deniability. Here's the sequence: (1) Pirro questions the "constitutionality" of wearing a hijab; (2) Fox "News" condemns her remark & quietly suspends her; (3) a white supremacist kills 50 Muslims; (4) Trump demands Fox reinstate the person who questioned the constitutionality of Muslim clothing. P.S. If I get it, you can bet the dimmest ethno-nationalist does, too. ...

... Matt Shuham of TPM: "As his chief of staff defended him against charges of Islamophobia on Sunday..., Donald Trump defended a Fox News anchor who was reportedly suspended for Islamophobic remarks.... Mick Mulvaney argued on 'Fox News Sunday' that he was not a white supremacist, and two days after a white nationalist terrorist attack killed 50 Mosque-goers in Christchurch, New Zealand. In a separate interview Sunday, Mulvaney told CBS’s Margaret Brennan that 'I don't think anybody can say that the President is anti-Muslim.' 'Well, the President's tweeting now about a TV host who was suspended for anti-Muslim rhetoric,' Brennan responded. 'So I think it's a fair question to ask you about this.'" Mrs. McC: Mick, now you have blood on your hands, too, you sniveling, lying toady. And everyone can say the President* is anti-Muslim. And everyone would be right. ...

... Marisa Fernandez of Axios: "The string of [Trump] tweets comes one day after authorities said 'an immigrant-hating white supremacist'killed at least 50 people at a pair of mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Trump issued a single tweet on the day of the attack extending his sympathies to the people of New Zealand, but he did not condemn the shooter's racial motives or acknowledge the targeting of Muslims." Both Shuham & Fernandez cite Trump's full Twitter defense of Pirro & Tucker Carlson."

Christopher Dickey of the Daily Beast: "Now is the time for a global war on white nationalist terrorism.... Networks of white nationalist apologists, sympathizers, supporters and facilitators -- vital to any terrorist movement -- are deeply embedded in the political and social fabric. They are literally the enemy within. As an apologist, it should be said..., Donald Trump is in a class by himself. Trump is 'a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose,' as [the New Zealand mosque murderer] wrote in his manifesto.... And when it comes to feeding the basic instincts of the base in order to hold on to power, it is not at all clear how far Trump will go."

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The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday said he encouraged House Republicans to vote in favor of a resolution calling on the Justice Department to make Robert Mueller's final report public -- despite tweeting a day earlier that the special counsel 'should never have been appointed' and that 'there should be no Mueller Report.'... 'On the recent non-binding vote (420-0) in Congress about releasing the Mueller Report, I told leadership to let all Republicans vote for transparency,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Makes us all look good and doesn't matter. Play along with the game!'" Mrs. McC: Anyone inclined to "play along" with that assertion, Donald, will have to suspend disbelief.

Daniel Politi of Slate: "... Donald Trump made it clear Saturday that just because someone is dead, doesn't mean that they get a reprieve from his petty squabbles.... The president's criticism of [John McCain] began with a quote of a comment by former independent counsel Ken Starr who was referring to reports that it was McCain's office that passed along the unverified dossier of Trump's ties to Russia to the media. Starr had said that while McCain was an 'American hero,' the reports, if true, amount to a 'very dark stain' on the late senator. Trump, however, seized this opportunity to bring up his long-held criticism of McCain, saying the Arizona Republican 'had far worse "stains" than this,' going on to cite his vote against efforts to repeal Obamacare in 2017."

Laurence Tribe & Joshua Matz in the Daily Beast argue that Trump is more impeachable than ever: "When we released To End A Presidency: The Power of Impeachment in May 2018, we ... concluded that four alleged impeachable offenses merited further investigation: (1) improper dealings with Russia surrounding the 2016 presidential election; (2) obstruction of justice in Russia-related investigations; (3) abuse of the pardon power; and (4) implementing kleptocracy. We stand by our original conclusions. Indeed, in many respects the facts bearing on these four issues have grown worse for Trump. The evidence of sketchy interactions with Russia during the election is now much stronger; his assaults on the Russia investigation have continued apace; and Trump's financial entanglements with hostile powers have cast a pall of corruption over key foreign policy judgments.... In light of events since May 2018, we now believe that two more potential 'high Crimes and Misdemeanors' warrant investigation.... The first such offense is corrupt failure to defend the United States -- and its electoral system -- against domestic operations launched by a hostile foreign power.... The same is true of allegations that Trump broke the law during the 2016 presidential election." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: So in case you're afraid you might be slightly wacky to be singing the impeachment song, take heart in knowing that Larry Tribe is in the chorus.

Frances Robles, et al., of the New York Times explore Li "Cindy" Yang's endeavors in her pay-for-play shenanigans at Mar-a-Lago. It certainly appears she has engineered illegal contributions to Trump's re-election committee. "Over the weeks leading up to the event, at least nine people in Ms. Yang's orbit, some of them with modest incomes, made donations at exactly $5,400. She ended up at the dinner.... One of the $5,400 political donations came from a 25-year old woman who gives facials at a beauty school, in a strip mall in nearby Palm Beach Gardens that is owned by Ms. Yang's family. Another $5,400 came from a woman who says she worked as a receptionist at a massage parlor owned by Ms. Yang's husband. A third gift of $5,400 came from an associate of Ms. Yang's who had been charged in 2014 after a prostitution sting with practicing health care without a license, police records show." (Also linked yesterday.)

Dance of the Dinosaurs. Darryl Fears & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is aggressively pressing ahead in expanding federal oil and gas industry leases that could lead to more drilling on land and at sea, defying an assessment by government scientists that the production and use of fossil fuels is accelerating climate change. On Friday, the administration announced a final decision to lift protections for a uniquely American bird, called the greater sage grouse, on nearly 9 million acres to provide more leasing opportunities to oil, gas and mining industries. A day earlier, an Interior Department assistant secretary confirmed that he told leaders of the fossil fuel industry last month that the Atlantic coast will almost certainly be included in the administration's plan to expand federal leasing to nearly the entire outer continental shelf. Offshore leases haven't been granted in the Atlantic for decades, and drilling hasn't been allowed for a half-century.... n his remarks, [assistant secretary for land and minerals management Joe] Balash said he found it 'absolutely thrilling' that President Trump's 'knack for keeping the attention of the media and the public focused somewhere else' has allowed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management employees to process the permits without much scrutiny."

Aaron Davis & Marina Lopes of the Washington Post: "The FAA's publication of pilot training requirements for the Max 8 in the fall of 2017 [--which did not mention the new anti-stall software --] was among the final steps in a multiyear approval process carried out under the agency's now 10-year-old policy of entrusting Boeing and other aviation manufacturers to certify that their own systems comply with U.S. air safety regulations. In practice, one Boeing engineer would conduct a test of a particular system on the Max 8, while another Boeing engineer would act as the FAA's representative, signing on behalf of the U.S. government that the technology complied with federal safety regulations, people familiar with the process said.... The process was occurring during a period when the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General was warning the FAA that its oversight of manufacturers' work was insufficient. In the years between the time Boeing launched the Max 8 design in 2011 and the first plane rolled out of production in 2016, the inspector general criticized the FAA's handling of the 'self-certification' system in three successive reports." (Also linked yesterday.)

John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "... even though it was encouraging to see some individual Republicans [vote against Trump], there is still no reason to suppose that the G.O.P. as a whole is getting ready to rein in Trump, or to start distancing itself from him. To the contrary, the [Senate] vote [on his fake national emergency] demonstrated that the vast majority of elected Republicans are still too cowed by the President and his supporters to oppose him, even when they know what he has done is wrong, a majority of the public agrees with them, and the outcome of the vote is largely symbolic."

Presidential Race 2020 -- Feet of Clay Edition

Christopher Hooks in the American Prospect: "While representing a gerrymandered city council district that contained some of [El Paso]'s richest residents at one end and some of the country's poorest at the other, [Beto] O'Rourke championed a plan by the well-heeled to appropriate large parts of the city's historic barrios for redevelopment. It was bitterly opposed by many of his constituents in the affected areas, but supported fervently by his father-in-law Bill Sanders, one of the richest and most powerful men in town. This is the paradox of Beto O'Rourke.... He can be a loud and distinctive progressive voice on national issues and an avatar for the wealthy and powerful, sometimes simultaneously. He's the House primary challenger who took on Silvestre Reyes in 2012, running to Reyes's left on legalizing marijuana, and to his right on increasing the Social Security retirement age. He's the rock-star Democrat who wouldn't support a fellow House candidate over a Republican he considered his friend. And he's the city councilmember who tried to be everything to everyone in El Paso -- except for the people of south El Paso." ...

... A Precocious Hacker. Joseph Menn of Reuters: "While a teenager, [Beto] O'Rourke acknowledged in an exclusive interview, he belonged to the oldest group of computer hackers in U.S. history. The hugely influential Cult of the Dead Cow, jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse, is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft's Windows. It's also known for inventing the word 'hacktivism' to describe human-rights-driven security work. Members of the group have protected O'Rourke's secret for decades, reluctant to compromise his political viability."

Say What? Sarah Jones of New York: "Senator Amy Klobuchar, alleged staff-abuser and Democratic candidate for president, has decided to cast her 'tough' treatment of aides as a positive quality. The Minnesota Democrat told CNN's Poppy Harlow that while she 'can always do better,' being a boss means 'you have to have high standards.' She went on to claim that her behavior would make her a good president: 'One can always do better, and that means you want to be sure that you are listening to people if they felt that something was unfair, or they felt bad about something. But I still think that you have to demand good product. When you're out there on the world stage and dealing with people like Vladimir Putin, yeah, you want someone who's tough. You want someone that demands the answers and that's going to get things done, and that's what I've done my whole life.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's see: "I throw binders at my incompetent staff, so I would stand up to Vladimir Putin, too." Okay then.

Avery Anapol of the Hill: "Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Sunday officially announced she is running for president in 2020. The Democratic senator, who announced an exploratory committee for a potential run last month, takes aim at President Trump and highlights a number of progressive causes in a launch video that asks: 'Will brave win?'"

Mike Memoli of NBC News: "Joe Biden nearly declared his candidacy several weeks ahead of schedule as he previewed the message he'd take to the campaign, telling his home state Democrats that he had 'the most progressive record of anybody running' even as he appealed for a return to bridge-building politics of consensus. Biden's keynote address to the Delaware Democratic Party's largest annual fundraising dinner was not supposed to be an announcement speech. But for the second time in less than a week he walked close to the line as he addressed a very friendly audience."

Carole Cadwalladr of the Guardian: "Facebook is facing explosive new questions about when senior executives knew of Cambridge Analytica's abuse of users' data, one year on from when the scandal first broke, as federal prosecutors investigate claims that the social media giant has covered up the extent of its relationship with the firm. The Observer has also learned of claims that a meeting was hosted at the office of Facebook board member and confidant of its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Christopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, in the summer 2016 just as the data firm started working for the Trump campaign.... Individuals who attended the meeting with Wylie and [Facebook board member Marc] Andreessen claim it was set up to learn what Cambridge Analytica was doing with Facebook's data and how technologists could work to 'fix' it."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. "Fox News Channel replaced [Saturday] night's broadcast of Jeanine Pirro's weekly program with a repeat episode of its documentary series 'Scandalous,' just days after the ... cable-news network said it condemned remarks the outspoken host made about Minnesota Democrat Ihan Omar.... A Fox News spokesperson ... declined to elaborate." Mrs. McC: Looks as if even Fox "News" thinks it's a bad idea to be airing the views of an Islamophobic wacko in the wake of the New Zealand mass murder.

A History Lesson for White Supremacists. Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: White supremacists, including the New Zealand mass murderer, sport medieval signs which they think symbolize the good old days when Europe was all-white. "'White supremacists imagine the Middle Ages as a time when Europe was all white, separated from its neighbors and in constant conflict with those that it deemed to be outsiders,' [medievalist Paul] Sturtevant said. 'Nothing could be further from the truth.' In medieval Sicily, Christians, Muslims and Jews were 'living and working together side by side,' Sturtevant said. In 7th-century England, the well-respected archbishop of Canterbury was from Turkey, and his favorite abbot was from North Africa. There were Ethiopian embassies across southern Europe, including Rome. Pilgrimage books listed travelers as hailing from 'India' -- though this was probably just a fill-in for anywhere in the Middle East." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Historically, the only all-white continent is Antarctica, where the whiteness is snow. Any place outside Europe that is predominantly white today is so because Europeans invaded it, not the other way around. That certainly includes Australia, which whites first invaded as recently as the late 18th century, and New Zealand, which whites began to settle only in the mid-19th century. The "intellectual" basis for white supremacy is white territorial aggression.

Beyond the Beltway

Missouri. People Voted for This Idiot. John Bowden of the Hill: "A Republican lawmaker in Missouri wants to require adults in his state to purchase handguns and AR-15 rifles. Two bills introduced by state Rep. Andrew McDaniel would require residents to purchase firearms while providing $1 million in tax credits on a first-come, first-served basis to residents who fall under the law."

New York. Ali Winston & William K. Rashbaum of the New York Times: "A 24-year-old Staten Island man who was taken into police custody on Saturday in connection with the fatal shooting of the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family faces murder charges, according to court records and officials. The brazen shooting of the boss, Francesco Cali, in front of his home in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island on Wednesday ... fueled speculation that New York City was seeing the return of open mob conflict that last erupted decades ago. Several officials, however, said on Saturday that preliminary information suggested that the killing of Mr. Cali, 53, was not related to organized crime. One official cautioned that the inquiry was still in its early stages."

Way Beyond

... Australia. Palko Karasz of the New York Times: "An anti-immigration lawmaker in Australia who has been criticized for blaming Muslim immigration for Friday's New Zealand shootings struck a teenager who smashed an egg on his head in Melbourne on Saturday.... After dozens of people were shot and killed at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, [Sen. Fraser] Anning said in a statement widely shared on Twitter, 'The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.'"

... Calla Wahlquist of the Guardian: "The Australian government has cancelled the visa of far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos just a week after it was personally approved by the immigration minister. Immigration minister David Coleman said on Saturday that comments about Islam made by Yiannopoulos in the wake of the Christchurch massacre were 'appalling and foment hatred and division' and he would not be allowed in the country. It comes a week after Coleman approved Yiannopoulos' visa against the advice of the home affairs department, which said the commentator may fail the character test to enter Australia." ...

... Al Jazeera: "Yiannopoulos is a former editor of the US-based far-right website Breitbart news site who has regularly railed against ;Muslims, immigrants and the press. On Friday, he said on Facebook that attacks like Christchurch happen because 'the establishment panders to and mollycoddles extremist leftism and barbaric, alien religious cultures.'" ...

... New Zealand. Melissa Davey of the Guardian: "The death toll from the mosque terror attacks in Christchurch has risen to 50, New Zealand police commissioner confirmed on Sunday morning." ...

... Emanuel Stoakes & Gerry Shih of the Washington Post: "The primary suspect in Friday's deadly shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, appeared in court on Saturday. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, did not enter a plea on one count of murder and made a white power gesture from the dock. Authorities have two more suspects in custody. New Zealand's [Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern] vowed its 'gun laws will change.' Suspect had license to carry the types of guns used in deadly attacks.... Ardern said Tarrant had modified guns used in the killing that left at least 49 dead, and Attorney General David Parker says the government will ban semiautomatic rifles." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- March 16, 2019

Late Morning Update:

Aaron Davis & Marina Lopes of the Washington Post: "The FAA's publication of pilot training requirements for the Max 8 in the fall of 2017 [--which did not mention the new anti-stall software --] was among the final steps in a multiyear approval process carried out under the agency's now 10-year-old policy of entrusting Boeing and other aviation manufacturers to certify that their own systems comply with U.S. air safety regulations. In practice, one Boeing engineer would conduct a test of a particular system on the Max 8, while another Boeing engineer would act as the FAA's representative, signing on behalf of the U.S. government that the technology complied with federal safety regulations, people familiar with the process said.... The process was occurring during a period when the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General was warning the FAA that its oversight of manufacturers' work was insufficient. In the years between the time Boeing launched the Max 8 design in 2011 and the first plane rolled out of production in 2016, the inspector general criticized the FAA's handling of the 'self-certification' system in three successive reports."

Emanuel Stoakes & Gerry Shih of the Washington Post: "The primary suspect in Friday's deadly shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, appeared in court on Saturday. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, did not enter a plea on one count of murder and made a white power gesture from the dock. Authorities have two more suspects in custody. New Zealand's [Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern] vowed its 'gun laws will change.' Suspect had license to carry the types of guns used in deadly attacks.... Ardern said Tarrant had modified guns used in the killing that left at least 49 dead, and Attorney General David Parker says the government will ban semiautomatic rifles."

Frances Robles, et al., of the New York Times explore Li "Cindy" Yang's endeavors in her pay-for-play shenanigans at Mar-a-Lago. It certainly appears she has engineered illegal contributions to Trump's re-election committee. "Over the weeks leading up to the event, at least nine people in Ms. Yang's orbit, some of them with modest incomes, made donations at exactly $5,400. She ended up at the dinner.... One of the $5,400 political donations came from a 25-year old woman who gives facials at a beauty school, in a strip mall in nearby Palm Beach Gardens that is owned by Ms. Yang's family. Another $5,400 came from a woman who says she worked as a receptionist at a massage parlor owned by Ms. Yang's husband. A third gift of $5,400 came from an associate of Ms. Yang's who had been charged in 2014 after a prostitution sting with practicing health care without a license, police records show."

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You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, O.K.? I'm a nationalist. Nationalist! Use that word! Use that word! -- Donald Trump, at a rally in October 2018

In Wake of Mass Murder, Trump Fails to Condemn White Nationalism. Shannon Vavra of Axios: "Following the fatal mosque shootings in New Zealand, President Trump said Friday he thinks white nationalists make up just 'a small group of people,' when asked if he believes white nationalism is a 'rising threat.' 'I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess. If you look what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that's the case. I don't know enough about it yet ... But it's certainly a terrible thing.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Once again, when it was especially necessary, Trump was unwilling to condemn white nationalism. And why would he? He is a white nationalist. ...

     ... Nick Confessore of the NYT, appearing on MSNBC, noted that Trump uses the same language avowed white nationalists do; for instance, both speak of the "invasion" of non-whites. ...

     ... Update: Alex Ward of Vox: "... Donald Trump just used similar language to describe immigrants coming into the United States that the alleged mass shooter did to justify killing nearly 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.... During a veto signing ceremony [more on that farce below], Trump explained why he felt a national emergency was warranted to stop migrants from entering the US. 'People hate the word "invasion," but that's what it is,' he said.... In the rambling 74-page manifesto the 28-year-old suspected shooter posted online shortly before the attack, he writes that he was committing the killings 'to show the invaders that our lands will never be their lands.' It's also the same language the man who killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last October used: In that case, the perpetrator blamed Jews for helping what he called 'invaders' in the Central American migrant caravans who were trying to enter the US.... [Trump's] rhetoric around both Muslims and immigrants echos some of the same exact tropes that white nationalist extremists frequently traffic in -- and it has for a long time." ...

... David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump appeared to use Twitter around midnight Thursday to promote a website with an interview in which he explained how 'tough' his supporters could get -- but the tweet had disappeared as of Friday morning. In his chat with the Breitbart News Network, Trump said: 'I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump -- I have the tough people, but they don't play it tough -- until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.'... 'I think it sounds very much to me like he's encouraging them to engage in something that's probably illegal such as assaulting people, you know behave in a dangerous way,' said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaking on MSNBC. 'That sounds like a threat to me. I think it's appalling.' Social media users criticized Trump for posting the article as news was breaking about the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 49 people dead. On Friday morning, Trump tweeted a condemnation of the the attacks." (Also linked yesterday.)

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It appears to me that Trump -- or a staff member -- realized it was "bad optics" to favoriably tweet about violence against "the left" right after one of his admirers murdered dozens of Muslim worshippers & posted the killing spree on social media. Bad timing, sure, but I doubt Trump's sentiment has changed. ...

... Brian Klaas, in a Washington Post op-ed, writes "a short history of President Trump's anti-Muslim bigotry.... Trump is an Islamophobic bigot.... Upon taking office, Trump surrounded himself with anti-Muslim bigots.... Hollow statements of condolence are meaningless if you are willing to turn around and support an Islamophobic bigot in the White House who makes those condolences more necessary.... If we want to stop such massacres, we need to work much harder to stamp out hate and bigotry in society -- and part of that is to stop electing or supporting hateful bigots." ...

... Nicole Lafond of TPM: "In response to the massacre in New Zealand on Friday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) -- one of two Muslim women in Congress -- condemned 'white supremacists' in the U.S. who influence attacks around the world." --s ...

... Wajahat Ali in the New York Times: "All those who have helped to spread the worldwide myth that Muslims are a threat have blood on their hands." Ali calls out Donald Trump, Steve King & other white nationalists for their anti-Muslim rhetoric that stokes fear & hatred. ...

... Zack Ford of ThinkProgress: "In the wake of the deadly New Zealand shootings targeting two mosques, Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) issued a statement condemning the violence. He also suggested that the alleged shooter's apparent motivations were valid concerns that could have been addressed through either the courts or the legislature.... Gohmert did not specifically offer condolences to the victims or their families.... Gohmert was one of 24 House Republicans who refused to vote for last week's resolution condemning bigotry." --s ...

... Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Right from the twisted start, those who plotted to kill worshipers at two New Zealand mosques depended on the passive incompetence of Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms. They depended on the longtime priorities of the tech giants who, for years, have concentrated on maximizing revenue, not protecting safety or decency.... Many hours after the massacre, a horrific 17-minute video -- showing a man in black shooting with a semiautomatic rifle at those running from mosques and shooting into piles of bodies -- could still be easily accessed on YouTube.... As violence goes more and more viral, tech companies need to deal with the crisis that they have helped create." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

The attackers' civilized, European response to living among people not like them is barbarism. -- Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo ...

... C.J. Werleman of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald: The New Zealand mosque murderer "represents the dangerous convergence between broken white men and extreme right-wing media, bearing in mind that 100 per cent of all terrorist attacks carried out on US soil in 2018 were carried out by right-wing extremists, with the Southern Poverty Law Centre crediting a' toxic combination of political polarisation, anti-immigrant sentiment and modern technologies that help spread propaganda online'. These kind of attacks are being carried out in increased frequency and ferocity in mosques, synagogues, and black churches throughout the Western world, with a notable common denominator: the gunmen are always white, male and fuelled by consumption of right-wing media.... Whereas anti-Semitism, anti-black and anti-Asian racism are rightfully and routinely condemned, Islamophobia remains the only form of racism that remains within socially acceptable limits. Last week, for instance, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro suggested America's first elected black Muslim congresswoman would not be loyal to the US constitution because she wears a hijab...." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Amanda Meade of the Guardian: "Sky New Zealand has pulled fellow broadcaster Sky News Australia off air until the channel stops broadcasting clips from the Christchurch mosque shooter's Facebook live stream. In a tweet posted on Saturday morning, Sky New Zealand, an independently-owned broadcaster, said it had decided to remove the Australian 24-hour news channel from its platform because of the distressing footage.... Despite a plea from New Zealand police, Rupert Murdoch's Australian pay-TV channel was among the broadcasters that chose to screen [the video.]... Sky News Australia has been broadcasting the footage repeatedly, sparking anger on social media." --s ...

... It's Never Wingers' Fault. Caleb Ecarma of Mediaite: "Rush Limbaugh promoted a fringe conspiracy that suggests the Christchurch, New Zealand Mosque massacre may have been a false flag attack carried out by a 'leftist' to 'to smear' right-wingers.... Limbaugh was repeating a conspiracy promoted on online, fringe cesspools, like 4chan's /pol/ and the /r/The_Donald subreddit, during the immediate aftermath of the shooting." ...

... Guardian: "Mosques in New Zealand and around the world have been inundated with floral tributes and messages of support after a massacre in Christchurch that killed 49 Muslims. The strongest response from the public was in New Zealand, which is reeling in the wake of the worst peacetime mass killing in the nation's history. Unable to reach the mosques that were targeted by the shooter because of a cordon, people left piles of flowers and cards as close as they were allowed to go." --s ...

... Spencer Ackerman, et al. of The Daily Beast: "[F]ewer than a fifth of the FBI's open terrorism investigations focus on people without connections to international extremist organizations. It's a proxy figure that highlights what former counterterrorism officials consider an insufficient focus on far-right violence.... Out of about 5,000 open terrorism investigations, 900 probe domestic terrorism, according to FBI data.... 'Domestic terrorism' is an umbrella category that includes far more than just far-right terrorism, but functions as the most granular data available to indicate how federal law enforcement targets white supremacist violence." --s

Look! Trump signed something.Bill Barr Overtly Politicized the DOJ. Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "President Trump on Friday issued the first veto of his presidency, rejecting legislation that opposed his declaration of a national emergency to fund a wall along the southern border. The bill blocking Mr. Trump's emergency declaration had attracted significant Republican support in Congress.... The president called the resolution 'dangerous' and 'reckless.' The president was flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General William P. Barr and Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary. Mr. Barr said that the president's emergency order was 'clearly authorized under the law' and 'solidly grounded in law.' The president's veto, which was expected, will send the legislation back to Congress, which most likely does not have enough votes for an override, meaning that Mr. Trump's declaration will remain in effect." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: In yesterday's Comments, Akhilleus made fun of Trump for this ceremonial show veto: "It seems like every time Trump signs some bill in the Oval Office, surrounded by selected members of the press and a passel of obsequious toadies, he holds up the document, freshly scribbled gigantic John Hancock down below, to show it off to the assembled group. As if he's a five year old showing mom and dad that he can too write his name. I cannot, for the life of me, recall any other president going through this same embarrassing ritual whereat they sign a bill then hold it up and waggle it around in this fashion." You should read the whole comment. But it's even worse than Akhilleus lets on. Real presidents don't "sign vetoes." Rather, they return the bills to Congress, unsigned. As Brian Williams put it on MSNBC, "Somebody gave Trump some kind of document to sign & pass around the room."

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump put in another plug Friday for a group that seeks to lure Jews from the Democratic Party, writing that 'Republicans are waiting with open arms' in a tweet sent shortly after he used Twitter to condemn deadly attacks on New Zealand mosques.... 'The "Jexodus" movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party,' Trump wrote. 'Total disrespect! Republicans are waiting with open arms. Remember Jerusalem (U.S. Embassy) and the horrible Iran Nuclear Deal!'... The timing of Trump's latest tweet was panned by many pundits on Twitter.... 'Trump is now stoking religious division immediately after tweeting out a post-#ChristchurchMosqueAttack condolence message. Add it to the pile,' wrote Kevin Baron, executive editor of Defense One, a publication devoted to national security." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe it's just me, but I do find the term "Jexodus" to be anti-Semitic. ...

... Matthew Yglesias of Vox explains the origins behind the fake "Jexodus" peddled by Trump. --s

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Rebecca Morin of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday insisted there should be no report from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, denouncing the investigation as 'illegal.' 'So, if there was knowingly & acknowledged to be 'zero' crime when the Special Counsel was appointed, and if the appointment was made based on the Fake Dossier (paid for by Crooked Hillary) and now disgraced Andrew McCabe (he & all stated no crime), then the Special Counsel ... should never have been appointed and there should be no Mueller Report,' the president tweeted Friday.... The president on Friday also complained that the probe was only started as an excuse for Democrats losing the 2016 election. 'This was an illegal & conflicted investigation in search of a crime,; he tweeted, adding 'Russian Collusion was nothing more than an excuse by the Democrats for losing an Election that they thought they were going to win.' 'THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO A PRESIDENT AGAIN!' Trump concluded." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump doesn't seem to know what an "investigation" is. It's a search for facts; not a statement of fact. The whole "Waiting for Mueller" drama is a pause in which Congress & ordinary citizens are waiting to learn what facts Mueller has uncovered to determine whether or not crimes or other bad acts were committed. It's not "illegal" to conduct an investigation of a person if there is evidence s/he may have violated the law. It's how a justice system is supposed to work. Otherwise, we are left with Trump's system: if an official doesn't like somebody -- say "Crooked Hillary" -- you just accuse her of a crime and "lock her up." Trump's whine o' the day is yet another iteration of his authoritarianism.

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Michael Flynn has finished cooperating with ... Robert Mueller's investigation, but the information he provided is still part of other ongoing criminal investigations, prosecutors said in court on Friday.Federal prosecutors in Virginia want to restrict sharing some special counsel memos of interviews with Flynn because of the 'ongoing investigation' into matters he shared with investigators. In court Friday, the prosecutor said the ongoing probes were unrelated to Flynn's Turkish lobbying case -- raising the possibility it touches on Flynn's ties to the Trump campaign, transition, administration or the Russian government. The prosecutor in court Friday stopped himself after he acknowledged other US attorneys may be looking at what Flynn shared with the special counsel."

Chad Day of the AP: "Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and key cooperator in the special counsel's Russia probe, is not ready to be sentenced because he continues to help with 'several ongoing investigations,' prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.... The [joint] filing [by prosecutors & Gates' attorneys] asks for another 60 days to update U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on whether Gates can proceed to sentencing." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ken Vogel & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin, sued the United States government on Friday, demanding it lift sanctions that he claimed have cost him billions of dollars, made him 'radioactive' in international business circles and exposed him to criminal investigation and asset confiscation in Russia. In a lawsuit filed in United States District Court in Washington, Mr. Deripaska said that the sanctions, leveled in April by the Treasury Department, should be struck down because they deprived him of due process and relied on unproven smears that fell outside the sanctions program." Mrs. McC: Maybe Deripaska can get Trump & Manafort to testify as character witnesses. ...

Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "The academic who helped Cambridge Analytica vacuum up private information from tens of millions of Facebook profiles sued the social media giant on Friday, arguing that the company defamed him when it claimed he had lied about how the data was going to be used. Since the full scope of Cambridge Analytica's data mining was revealed last year, Facebook has repeatedly tried to shift blame for the privacy breach onto the academic, Aleksandr Kogan. Facebook executives -- including the chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg -- have said Mr. Kogan told Facebook that the data was for academic purposes when it was being collected for use in political campaigns."

** Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "[Cliff Zhonggang Li, the executive director of the National Committee of Asian American Republicans] said he can't 'rule out' the possibility that Chinese citizens illegally used American straw donors to funnel cash to the Trump campaign at events in which his group participated.... Li has been a political mentor to Cindy Yang, 45, the massage parlor entrepreneur who, through a separate company she set up in 2017 with her husband, offered access to President Donald Trump and his family at Mar-a-Lago and in Washington.... He said that he and Yang agreed last year -- in either March or April -- that she would be 'gradually dismissed' from a fundraising role with his organization due to differing views on fundraising.... Yang instead began fundraising for Republican politicians through a corporation, called the Women's Charity Foundation, that she created, according to Li." --s ...

... U.S. Foreign Policy for Sale at Mar-a-Lago. Caitlin Ostroff, et al., of the Miami Herald: "South Florida day spa entrepreneur Li 'Cindy' Yang -- now famous for her Super Bowl party selfie with the president -- used her burgeoning political access to bring Xianqin Qu, a leader from the foreign arm of the Communist Party of China, to an event where she met top Republicans and members of the Trump administration, including Kellyanne Conway, counselor to ... Donald Trump. Qu is the president of the Florida Chapter of the Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Unification -- a group 'directly subordinate' to the Communist Party of China, according to a 2018 U.S. government report. The group's stated purpose is to push for reunification of China and Taiwan, although in recent years members in chapters around the world actively promoted a wide range of policies in harmony with Beijing's agenda abroad.... Through Yang, Qu gained access to high-profile events featuring Trump aides and family members on at least two occasions.... Although liaisons with lobbyists from foreign governments are normal, Qu gained access to some of Trump's closest allies not through official channels but at political and social events."

** Dana Milbank: "This is what happens when corporations run the government. As the world was grounding 737 Max airliners this week, following the second crash involving the new jet in five months, the Trump administration, serving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, declared 'no basis to order grounding.' This from an administration and president that claim climate change is a hoax, radiation and pesticides are healthy, and that 'raking' prevents forest fires. When President Trump finally buckled to pressure and grounded the 737 Max on Wednesday, he said he 'maybe didn't have to' but thought it important 'psychologically.' And why shouldn't everybody trust the judgment of a guy who didn't know the difference between HIV and HPV, proposed that exercise is bad for you and claimed that vaccines cause autism?" Read on.

The "Power" of the Purse. Dan Spinelli of Mother Jones: "Created during the Cold War, OCO ['overseas contingency operations'] has become popular in recent years as a convenient place to stash funding that exceeds the budget restrictions instituted by Congress in 2011. [It's] ... a quirky funding tool lawmakers from both parties have long despised, seeing it as a usurpation of the power of Congress in determining budgets.... The Pentagon is open about the fact that this account is set up this way to avoid being limited by budget caps.... But during the Trump administration, its use far has exceeded historical norms. Last year, the Pentagon requested $69 billion in OCO funding on top of their base budget of $616 billion and projected it would need only $20 billion from OCO in this year's budget cycle. Because the 2011 caps restrict the Pentagon this year to a $545 billion base budget, officials requested roughly $165 billion in uncapped OCO funding, a 140 percent increase from the prior year and a 725 percent difference from the Pentagon's earlier projection." --s

Weak Presidunce* Overruled, Again. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says the Trump administration will not ask allies who host U.S. troops to pay the full cost of hosting plus an extra 50 percent for the privilege of having American soldiers on their soil.... Democrats and Republicans in both chambers were alarmed when Bloomberg reported last week that 'under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them.'" --s

Matthew Lee of the AP: "The United States will revoke or deny visas to International Criminal Court personnel who attempt to investigate or prosecute alleged abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere and may do the same with those who try to take action against Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. Pompeo, making good on a threat delivered last September by national security adviser John Bolton, said the U.S had already moved against some employees of The Hague-based court, but declined to say how many or what cases they may have been investigating." (Also linked yesterday.)

A "Charity" in Name Only. Kim Barker of the New York Times: Southwest Key is best known for its substandard migrant shelters, but "the operations of ... charter schools, serving about 1,000 students, show how Southwest Key profits off public money, boosting compensation for charity leaders and stockpiling tens of millions of dollars.... The charity has been awarded almost $1.8 billion to run migrant shelters over the last decade, but is now under federal investigation for possible financial improprieties, prompted by an article last December in The New York Times. Two top officials, including the founder, Juan Sanchez, have stepped down. And a complaint about mismanagement at the schools, which have received more than $65 million in government money over the last decade, is under review by the Texas Education Agency." (Also linked yesterday.)

Bess Levin of Vanity Fair: "Republicans have reacted to the [Green New Deal policy proposal] in the same evenhanded, reasonable manner with which they've responded to other Democratic ideas like affordable health care and higher taxes on the wealthy. By which we mean they've lost their f--king minds.... Speaking at a news conference in Washington on Thursday night, Congressman Rob Bishop, who worked as a history teacher before going on to represent Utah's 1st Congressional District, told reporters, 'For many people who live in the West, but also in rural and urban areas, the ideas behind the Green New Deal are tantamount to genocide. That may be an overstatement, but not by a whole lot.'" --s

Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "The Equality Act, which would ensure legal protections for members of the LGBTQ community, was reintroduced in Congress on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, the Human Rights Campaign announced a 167-member corporate coalition in support of the legislation. But a ThinkProgress review of campaign finance data reveals that, through their corporate PACs, members of that coalition have recently given more than $750,000 combined to the two biggest congressional obstacles to the Equality Act's passage: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC)." --s

Natalie Kitroeff, et al., of the New York Times: "Weeks after a deadly crash involving a Boeing plane last October, company officials met separately with the pilot unions at Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. The officials said they planned to update the software for their 737 Max jets, the plane involved in the disaster, by around the end of 2018. It was the last time the Southwest pilots union heard from Boeing.... After a second 737 Max crashed, on Sunday in Ethiopia, United States regulators said the software update would be ready by April. This delay is now part of the intense scrutiny over Boeing's response after the first air disaster, a Lion Air accident that killed 189 people in Indonesia." (Also linked yesterday.)

Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Reporter: "The Southern Poverty Law Center on Thursday announced that it had fired Morris Dees, the center's co-founder and long-time public face of the civil rights organization, amid undisclosed allegations that Dees failed to meet the standards of the SPLC.... Internal emails obtained by APR related to Dees' firing appear to show that the problems -- which employees said spanned from sexual harassment to gender- and race-based discrimination — were more systemic and widespread, creating an atmosphere over several years in which female and minority employees felt mistreated. The employees also said that they felt their complaints were either not heard or resulted in retaliation from senior staff." The story cites specific e-mails.

Samantha Michaels of Mother Jones: "Since the 1970s, [Gary] DeLand has written or helped develop jail standards in at least 19 states, striking agreements with counties and sheriffs' groups to keep his model guidelines private. When lawyers requested to see the DeLand-inspired standards for Oregon's Deschutes County Jail as part of a wrongful death lawsuit in 2015, the sheriffs' association there claimed they were a 'trade secret' like 'the formula for Coca-Cola or the recipe for KFC.' Making them public 'would destroy their value,' the association's executive director said. A federal district court ruled that the documents must remain confidential.... Jails are keeping more than their rules out of the public eye. When the Utah State Records Committee sided with DeLand, it also found that Davis County had no obligation to release its jail's audit reports, which would reveal whether employees were complying with the operational standards.... Jails in more than a dozen states, from Alabama to Pennsylvania, use the company's auditing system. According to DeLand, ensuring that all these records stay private improves jails' accountability." --s

Bee Wilson of the Guardian: "For most people across the world, life is getting better but diets are getting worse. This is the bittersweet dilemma of eating in our times. Unhealthy food, eaten in a hurry, seems to be the price we pay for living in liberated modern societies.... You can measure this life improvement in many ways, whether by the growth of literacy and smartphone ownership, or the rising number of countries where gay couples have the right to marry. Yet our free and comfortable lifestyles are undermined by the fact that our food is killing us, not through lack of it but through its abundance -- a hollow kind of abundance." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Alabama. Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "When a white newspaper editor in Alabama drew widespread condemnation for an editorial that called for the Ku Klux Klan to ride again, only to be replaced by a black woman who hoped to take the newspaper in a new direction, it seemed like a symbolic moment. The new editor and publisher, Elecia R. Dexter, said she wanted to make the newspaper, The Democrat-Reporter, more reflective of the community it serves in Linden, a small town in western Alabama that is about 59 percent white and 41 percent black. But now, after only a few weeks, Ms. Dexter has stepped down. Her departure this week, which she attributed to continuing interference from the editor she was meant to replace [he still owns the paper], complicates the future of the weekly newspaper, which was once hailed for its journalism, and reflects the thorny reality that healing from racially hurtful acts is rarely a once-and-done process."

West Virginia. Herald-Dispatch: "Former Massey Energy CEO and U.S. Senate candidate Don Blankenship on Thursday filed a lawsuit seeking at least $12 billion in damages from a variety of national news and political organizations, claiming they set out on a 'search and destroy' mission against his 2018 candidacy for the Senate. The lawsuit, filed in Mingo County Circuit Court, claimed the 'DC establishment "swamp" and the establishment media united ... to take out Mr. Blankenship' in his bid for election. He argued in the suit that repeated references about him in the media as a 'convicted felon' as damaging his bid, even though he was not convicted of any felonies in relation to the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in Raleigh County in 2010 that killed 29 miners. Among those named in the lawsuit were news organizations Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Boston Globe Media Partners, Breitbart News Network, Clarity Media Group, The Washington Times, Tribune Publishing Co., Los Angeles Times Communications, The Washington Post and The Associated Press. Also named were the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a variety of individuals.... Blankenship ... was sentenced in 2016 for a misdemeanor conviction of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch. He was acquitted of felonies that could have stretched his sentence to 30 years."

News Lede

New York Times: "W. S. Merwin, a formidable American poet who for more than 60 years labored under a formidable poetic yoke: the imperative of using language -- an inescapably concrete presence on the printed page -- to conjure absence, silence and nothingness, died on Friday at his home near Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. He was 91."

Ides of March 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, O.K.? I'm a nationalist. Nationalist! Use that word! Use that word! -- Donald Trump, at a rally in October 2018

In Wake of Mass Murder, Trump Fails to Condemn White Nationalism. Shannon Vavra of Axios: "Following the fatal mosque shootings in New Zealand, President Trump said Friday he thinks white nationalists make up just 'a small group of people,' when asked if he believes white nationalism is a 'rising threat.' 'I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess. If you look what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that's the case. I don't know enough about it yet ... But it's certainly a terrible thing.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Once again, when it was especially necessary, Trump was unwilling to condemn white nationalism. And why would he? He is one. ...

     ... Nick Confessore of the NYT, appearing on MSNBC, noted that Trump uses the same language avowed white nationalists do; for instance, both speak of the "invasion" of non-whites.

Bill Barr Overtly Politicized the DOJ. Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "President Trump on Friday issued first veto of his presidency, rejecting legislation that opposed his declaration of a national emergency to fund a wall along the southern border. The bill blocking Mr. Trump's emergency declaration had attracted significant Republican support in Congress.... The president called the resolution 'dangerous' and 'reckless.' The president was flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General William P. Barr and Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary. Mr. Barr said that the president's emergency order was 'clearly authorized under the law' and 'solidly grounded in law.' The president's veto, which was expected, will send the legislation back to Congress, which most likely does not have enough votes for an override, meaning that Mr. Trump's declaration will remain in effect."

David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump appeared to use Twitter around midnight Thursday to promote a website with an interview in which he explained how 'tough' his supporters could get -- but the tweet had disappeared as of Friday morning. In his chat with the Breitbart News Network, Trump said: 'I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump -- I have the tough people, but they don't play it tough -- until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.'... 'I think it sounds very much to me like he's encouraging them to engage in something that's probably illegal such as assaulting people, you know behave in a dangerous way,' said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaking on MSNBC. 'That sounds like a threat to me. I think it's appalling.' Social media users criticized Trump for posting the article as news was breaking about the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 49 people dead. On Friday morning, Trump tweeted a condemnation of the the attacks."

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It appears to me that Trump -- or a staff member -- realized it was "bad optics" to favoriably tweet about violence against "the left" right after one of his admirers murdered dozens of Muslim worshippers & posted the killing spree on social media. Bad timing, sure, but I doubt Trump's sentiment has changed. ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump put in another plug Friday for a group that seeks to lure Jews from the Democratic Party, writing that 'Republicans are waiting with open arms' in a tweet sent shortly after he used Twitter to condemn deadly attacks on New Zealand mosques.... 'The "Jexodus" movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party,' Trump wrote. 'Total disrespect! Republicans are waiting with open arms. Remember Jerusalem (U.S. Embassy) and the horrible Iran Nuclear Deal!'... The timing of Trump's latest tweet was panned by many pundits on Twitter.... 'Trump is now stoking religious division immediately after tweeting out a post-#ChristchurchMosqueAttack condolence message. Add it to the pile,' wrote Kevin Baron, executive editor of Defense One, a publication devoted to national security." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe it's just me, but I do find the term "Jexodus" to be anti-Semitic.

... Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Right from the twisted start, those who plotted to kill worshipers at two New Zealand mosques depended on the passive incompetence of Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms. They depended on the longtime priorities of the tech giants who, for years, have concentrated on maximizing revenue, not protecting safety or decency.... Many hours after the massacre, a horrific 17-minute video -- showing a man in black shooting with a semiautomatic rifle at those running from mosques and shooting into piles of bodies -- could still be easily accessed on YouTube.... As violence goes more and more viral, tech companies need to deal with the crisis that they have helped create." ...

The attackers' civilized, European response to living among people not like them is barbarism. -- Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo

... C.J. Werleman of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald: The New Zealand mosque murderer "represents the dangerous convergence between broken white men and extreme right-wing media, bearing in mind that 100 per cent of all terrorist attacks carried out on US soil in 2018 were carried out by right-wing extremists, with the Southern Poverty Law Centre crediting a' toxic combination of political polarisation, anti-immigrant sentiment and modern technologies that help spread propaganda online'. These kind of attacks are being carried out in increased frequency and ferocity in mosques, synagogues, and black churches throughout the Western world, with a notable common denominator: the gunmen are always white, male and fuelled by consumption of right-wing media.... Whereas anti-Semitism, anti-black and anti-Asian racism are rightfully and routinely condemned, Islamophobia remains the only form of racism that remains within socially acceptable limits. Last week, for instance, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro suggested America's first elected black Muslim congresswoman would not be loyal to the US constitution because she wears a hijab...."

Matthew Lee of the AP: "The United States will revoke or deny visas to International Criminal Court personnel who attempt to investigate or prosecute alleged abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere and may do the same with those who try to take action against Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. Pompeo, making good on a threat delivered last September by national security adviser John Bolton, said the U.S. had already moved against some employees of The Hague-based court, but declined to say how many or what cases they may have been investigating."

A "Charity" in Name Only. Kim Barker of the New York Times: Southwest Key is best known for its substandard migrant shelters, but "the operations of ... charter schools, serving about 1,000 students, show how Southwest Key profits off public money, boosting compensation for charity leaders and stockpiling tens of millions of dollars.... The charity has been awarded almost $1.8 billion to run migrant shelters over the last decade, but is now under federal investigation for possible financial improprieties, prompted by an article last December in The New York Times. Two top officials, including the founder, Juan Sanchez, have stepped down. And a complaint about mismanagement at the schools, which have received more than $65 million in government money over the last decade, is under review by the Texas Education Agency."

Natalie Kitroeff, et al., of the New York Times: "Weeks after a deadly crash involving a Boeing plane last October, company officials met separately with the pilot unions at Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. The officials said they planned to update the software for their 737 Max jets, the plane involved in the disaster, by around the end of 2018. It was the last time the Southwest pilots union heard from Boeing.... After a second 737 Max crashed, on Sunday in Ethiopia, United States regulators said the software update would be ready by April. This delay is now part of the intense scrutiny over Boeing's response after the first air disaster, a Lion Air accident that killed 189 people in Indonesia."

Chad Day of the AP: "Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and key cooperator in the special counsel's Russia probe, is not ready to be sentenced because he continues to help with 'several ongoing investigations,' prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.... The [joint] filing [by prosecutors & Gates' attorneys] asks for another 60 days to update U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on whether Gates can proceed to sentencing."

~~~~~~~~~~

Emily Cochrane & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A dozen Republicans joined Senate Democrats on Thursday to overturn President Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border, arguing that the president had exceeded his powers in trying to build a border wall over Congress's objections. The 59-to-41 vote on a measure already approved by the House set up the first veto of Mr. Trump's presidency. It was not a big enough margin to override his promised veto, but Congress has now voted for the first time to block a presidential emergency declaration -- and on one of the core promises that animated Mr. Trump's political rise.... The president tweeted that he was looking 'forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country.'" ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The vote shows the weakness of both Trump & 3/4ths of Republican senators. Those who voted against the bill voted didn't have the guts to stand up for their own Constitutional powers. It should be obvious to the dimmest bulb that if these lily-livered senators won't stand up for themselves, they sure as hell aren't going to stand up for their constituents. ...

     ... To-wit. Steven Shepard of Politico: "On the eve of Congress’ unprecedented rebuke of ... Donald Trump, a majority of voters continue to oppose his declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll.... [Eighty] percent [of Republicans] support the declaration and only 13 percent oppos[e] it."

... James Arkin & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Two weeks ago, Sen. Thom Tillis said ... Donald Trump's national emergency declaration violated the separation of powers and created a dangerous precedent, stating in an op-ed that he would vote to reverse it. On Thursday, the North Carolina Republican flipped and sided with Trump on the border vote. Tillis [R-N.C.] and all but one other Republican up for reelection in 2020 -- Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- stuck with the president.... The vote underscores how little Republicans on the ballot in 2020 want to break with the president, even on an issue that divided the party and in states where Trump's approval rating is low.... 'Beware the fury of Trump,' said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor, who added he thought Republican senators could have faced primary challenges for opposing Trump on the issue. 'Trump's grip on the party is strong.'" ...

... Tillis Dances the Trumpy Chicken Walk-back. Jonathan Chait: A few weeks ago, "North Carolina senator Thom Tillis wrote an op-ed calling for Congress to deny Trump's authority. 'Conservatives rightfully cried foul when President Barack Obama used executive action to completely bypass Congress and unilaterally provide deferred action to undocumented adults who had knowingly violated the nation's immigration laws...,' he wrote, 'There is no intellectual honesty in now turning around and arguing that there's an imaginary asterisk attached to executive overreach -- that it's acceptable for my party but not thy party.' But then Trump started looking into supporting a primary challenger against Tillis. And lo and behold, Tillis abandoned the sacred principle. Republicans could have mustered a veto-proof majority to join with Democrats and block Trump, but failed. If Republicans are too frightened to defend what they themselves regard as a vital principle of the Constitution, what confidence should we have that they'll stand in the way of Trump's continued assaults on the Republic?" Mrs. McC: That would be a rhetorical question. ...

... Denver Post Editors Admit to Making Stupid Mistake: "We endorsed Sen. Cory Gardner in 2014 because we believed he'd be a statesman. We knew he'd be a conservative voice in Congress, to be certain, but we thought his voice would bring 'fresh leadership, energy and ideas.' We see now that was a mistake -- consider this our resolution of disapproval. Gardner has been too busy walking a political tight rope to be a leader.... Gardner was not among the 12 Republicans who joined Democrats in rejecting President Donald Trump's use of a national emergency declaration to allocate funds to a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.... This is a constitutional crisis and one of Colorado's two senators has failed the test.... We no longer know what principles guide the senator and regret giving him our support in a close race against Mark Udall." ...

... True to Form, Trump Made the Vote All about Himself. Seung Min Kim & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "In numerous calls with Republican senators in recent days, the president spoke of the battle [over his fake emergency] almost exclusively in personal terms -- telling them they would be voting against him while brushing aside constitutional concerns over his attempt to reroute billions of federal dollars for a border wall. He argued that a vote against the emergency would be seen by GOP supporters as being against border security and the wall and would hurt their own political fortunes, according to a person with direct knowledge of some of the calls.... And White House aides made it clear to undecided Republicans that was noticing those who chose to oppose him -- particularly if they were up for reelection in 2020."

... Stupid Republican Tricks. Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "A trio of GOP senators crashed the White House to plead with President Trump to compromise with congressional critics of his border emergency declaration, but the president rejected their entreaties as the Senate headed toward a showdown vote Thursday.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he showed up at the White House on Wednesday night with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), interrupting Trump as he dined with first lady Melania Trump. They discussed how to satisfy GOP concerns on the emergency declaration but reached no agreement.... 'With Trump everything is possible,' Graham said. 'Rabbits being pulled out of a hat are just everyday business.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the Justice Department to make special counsel Robert Mueller's findings and full report public and available to Congress. The 420-0 vote came after a fiery debate on the House floor, during which some Democratic lawmakers were admonished for their criticisms of ... Donald Trump.... Four Republicans -- Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted 'present.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Matt Stieb of New York: "On Thursday, Lindsey Graham made clear another roadblock to the public's access to the report: the Republican-controlled Senate. In the morning, Democrats passed a House resolution 420 to zero support of releasing the probe to the public.... In the afternoon, Graham promptly shut down the symbolic gesture, blocking Chuck Schumer's request to pass the House resolution. Graham, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, went a step further, requesting that AG William Barr should appoint a second special counsel to investigate 'misconduct' in the Department of Justice over the handling of Hillary Clinton's emails, and the government surveillance of Trump campaign staffer Carter Page."

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Dear Bob (Mueller): It's Friday. It's the Ides of March. So today would be a good day to drop some major indictments in your secret Russia probe. And make sure they finger Individual 1. Regards, Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Michael Sisak of the AP: "Insider testimony, emails and other evidence show ... Donald Trump turned his charitable foundation into a wing of his White House campaign, New York's attorney general said in a new court filing Thursday. State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, detailed her case against the foundation in a 37-page court filing in a lawsuit that seeks $2.8 million in restitution and an order banning Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York charities for 10 years."

Brent Griffiths of Politico: "The House Oversight Committee on Thursday formally requested documents from Diana Falzone, a former Fox News correspondent who reportedly was working on a story about a possible affair involving Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election but allegedly was told to lay off because the network wanted Trump to win. Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), is asking that Falzone turn over to his panel any documents 'relating to women alleging extramarital affairs with Donald Trump, payments by the President or anyone on his behalf to silence them, or any potential campaign finance violation.'... Nancy Erika Smith, Falzone's attorney, told Politico on Thursday night that her client would comply with Cummings' request. 'A government inquiry also trumps an NDA [non-disclosure agreement],' Erika Smith said, going further than her comments on MSNBC earlier this wee when she told Ari Melber that a subpoena would be necessary for Falzone to share what she knows."

Felicia Sonmez & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "A New York appellate court ruled Thursday that President Trump must face a defamation lawsuit filed by former' Apprentice' contestant Summer Zervos, one of about a dozen women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct shortly before the 2016 election. The ruling, which Trump's lawyers plan to appeal, means that attorneys for Zervos may have the opportunity to question Trump under oath in the coming months..... Trump called Zervos and the other women who made accusations against him 'liars,' prompting Zervos to file the lawsuit in 2017. Trump's attorneys have tried unsuccessfully to block the suit, arguing that the president is immune from such lawsuits in state court."

Another Aspect of the Steele Dossier Is Partially Confirmed. Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Aleksej Gubarev is a Russian technology entrepreneur who ... is best known for his appearance in 2016 A report by a former F.B.I. cyberexpert unsealed in a federal court in Miami found evidence that suggests Russian agents used networks operated by Mr. Gubarev to start their hacking operation during the 2016 presidential campaign.... The report stops short of directly linking Mr. Gubarev or his executives to the hacking, as asserted in the dossier.... Th report unsealed Thursday was commissioned by BuzzFeed to fend off Mr. Gubarev's [defamation] suit [against the news site], which was dismissed in December...."

Lydia Wheeler of the Hill: "The federal judge presiding over Roger Stone&'s criminal case has scheduled his trial to begin on Nov. 5.

John Amato of Crooks & Liars: "During a visit to the White House Thursday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar openly disagreed with Trump's views on Brexit saying, 'we've a different opinion at present - I regret that Brexit's happening.' During their presser, Trump said he only predicted Brexit would pass, 'and I was right,' and brought up his wacky Turnberry presser from 2016 [during which he expressed his support for Brexit]. Trump lied, of course. Trump then blamed Teresa May for not listening to the worst negotiator on the planet. All of her deals with the EU have failed in Parliament. 'I'm surprised at how badly it has all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation. But I gave the prime minister my ideas how to negotiate it and I think you would have been successful. She didn't listen to that and that's fine. She gotta do what she's gotta do,' Trump said. Then Trump continued his support of the Brexit vote saying, 'I don't think another vote would be possible because it would be very unfair to the people who voted in that one.'... After the Irish PM spoke out against Brexit, Trump then attacked the EU, threatening severe stuff economically against them." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Since Ireland is an EU member, Trump was threatening his guest, though in Trump's defense, it's possible Trump has no idea Ireland is even in Europe, much less in the EU. Happy St. Patrick's Day & all that. ...

... Wait, Wait. The Taoiseach Wasn't Through. Luke O'Neil of the Guardian: "The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who is gay, brought his partner to a meeting on Thursday with the US vice-president, Mike Pence, a conservative Christian once dubbed 'the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America'. Varadkar, who is in Washington this week to reaffirm the longstanding shared history between the two countries, brought his partner, Matt Barrett, to a St Patrick's Day breakfast at the vice-presidential residence at the Naval Observatory. Varadkar tweeted that he and Barrett had received a 'warm reception' at Pence's home, but in pointed remarks..., he also called out various forms of discrimination. 'I lived in a country where if I'd tried to be myself at the time, it would have ended up breaking laws,' he said. 'But today, that is all changed. I stand here, leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions, and not by my sexual orientation, my skin tone, gender or religious beliefs.'" Mrs. McC: Varadkar is one cool guy.

I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump -- I have the tough people, but they don't play it tough -- until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad. -- Donald Trump, to Breitbart "News," Monday ...

... So It Begins. Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star: "... Donald Trump has issued what seems to be a warning of armed pushback against his political opponents, telling a right-wing website on Monday that 'it would be very bad, very bad' if his supporters in the military, police and a motorcycle group were provoked into getting 'tough.' Trump uttered the remark in an interview with Breitbart News, a right-wing website that supports him. It came, according to Breitbart, as Trump was arguing that 'the left' plays politics in a 'tougher' and more 'vicious' manner than the pro-Trump right even though 'the tough people' are on Trump's side." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Rafi Schwartz of Splinter: "It says a lot about the state of the country when the President of the United States can make a laudatory, if oblique, reference to having fascist goon squads commit violence on his behalf, and it’s not the biggest headline of the day. Nevertheless, that’s evidently where we are...." ...

... Greg Sargent of the Washington Post writes about the plausible deniability inherent in Trump's remark. This is not specifically a call to arms; Trump doesn't say the military, police & bikers should rise up & defend him but that they might, if Democrats provoke them. Mrs. McC: At this point, Trump isn't stupid enough to openly call for revolution. As Michael Cohen testified, Trump knows he doesn't have to do so. Just as his paid henchmen understand Trump's coded instructions, so some of Trump's most violent supporters get it, too. Remember that QAnon adherents think they're hearing from Trump via radio signals coming through their teeth. Trump made this remark to Breitbart. You can bet many Breitbart mouthbreathers are among those who will get the secret message. Trump knows what he's doing. ...

... ** Juan Cole: "One of the tactics of the so-called 'Islamic State group' or ISIL had been to put out calls on the internet and social media for people to engage in random acts of violence.... Some have called this random, one-off violence, which is almost impossible to forestall, 'stochastic' terrorism.... The good news is that the military defeat of the ISIL's phony 'caliphate' in eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq appears to have reduced the amount of stochastic terrorism associated with that group.... The bad news is that Trump's promotion of key themes of white supremacism, in conjunction with the billionaire Mercers and bizarre ideologues like Steve Bannon, have clearly produced a new wave of stochastic white nationalist terrorism.... A whole series of acts of terrorism have now demonstrated significant links to Donald J. Trump's resurgent white nationalism, a key component of which is hatred for Muslims.... Today, almost all terrorism in the United States has a white nationalist character, and the person promoting stochastic terrorism by the Far Right is the president of the United States." --s

Where's the Love? Joyce Lee & Josh Smith of Reuters: "North Korea is considering suspending talks with the United States and may rethink a ban on missile and nuclear tests unless Washington makes concessions, news reports from the North's capital on Friday quoted a senior diplomat as saying." --s

Luke Barnes of ThinkProgress: "The deputy director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has launched a broadside against President Donald Trump's 2020 budget proposal, saying it would severely diminish the agency's ability to help investigate and combat gun violence. The proposal, rolled out earlier this week, would cut the Department of Justice budget, which oversees the ATF, by 2 percent, to $29.2 billion.... Despite its important role, the ATF remains one of the smallest federal law enforcement agencies, currently employing roughly 5,000 people." --s

Jason Lange of Reuters: "U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he would shield ... Donald Trump's tax returns from Congress, during remarks that could signal the administration's approach to an expected request from congressional Democrats. During testimony in the House of Representatives, Mnuchin told the House tax committee that he would follow the law upon receiving a request for tax returns but would also protect Trump's privacy rights.... Committee Chairman Richard Neal, the only member of the House authorized by law to request the president's returns, is expected to ask Mnuchin for the documents." ...

... Alan Rappeport & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "'Wonder Woman,' the 2017 film that Steven Mnuchin helped produce before becoming Treasury secretary, hauled in about $90 million at the box office in China.... But because of China's strict laws for foreign films, the studio behind the movie, Warner Bros., received just a small fraction of those revenues. Now, as Treasury secretary and one of the lead negotiators in trade talks with China, Mr. Mnuchin has been personally pushing Beijing to give the American film industry greater access to its markets.... While Mr. Mnuchin divested from his Hollywood film production company after joining the Trump administration..., in 2017 Mr. Mnuchin sold his interest in the company StormChaser ... to [Louise] Linton, who at the time was his fiancée. In his 2018 disclosure..., StormChaser is listed as one of Ms. Linton's assets. Since they are now married, government ethics rules consider the asset to be owned by Mr. Mnuchin. Mr. Mnuchin's remaining ties to the film industry are raising questions among ethics officials and lawmakers about whether a conflict of interest exists. At a congressional hearing on Thursday, Mr. Mnuchin was questioned by a top Senate Democrat about those continuing financial ties. The Office of Government Ethics still has not certified his 2018 financial disclosure, which is the first since his marriage to Ms. Linton.

Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross faced tough questioning Thursday from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee about whether he lied to Congress about his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.... Ross' highly anticipated appearance before the committee on Thursday comes just days after a second federal judge said he had violated federal law and the Constitution by hastily adding the question to the survey.... Ross testified before the House Ways and Means Committee last March that the question was added at his direction after he received the DOJ request. But documents released as a part of a multistate lawsuit against Ross showed that the secretary had inquired about adding the question much earlier."

Eric Lipton & Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: "Facing billions of dollars in cleanup costs, the Pentagon is pushing the Trump administration to adopt a weaker standard for groundwater pollution caused by chemicals that have commonly been used at military bases and that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans. The Pentagon's position pits it against the Environmental Protection Agency, which is seeking White House signoff for standards that would most likely require expensive cleanup programs at scores of military bases, as well as at NASA launch sites, airports and some manufacturing facilities. Despite its deregulatory record under President Trump, the E.P.A. has been seeking to stick with a tougher standard for the presence of the chemicals in question in the face of the pressure from the military to adopt a far looser framework. How the administration resolves the fight has potentially enormous consequences for how the United States is going to confront what a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called' one of the most seminal public health challenges' of the coming decades."

The Great Tax Con. Maria Caspani of Reuters: "Only one in five U.S. taxpayers expect [Mrs. McC: expects!] to pay less income tax this year as a result of the tax reform law passed in 2017 by Republicans who promised big savings for everyday Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday." --safari: This abject failure is the only major legislative "achievement" of Trump's entire presidency. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Not sure how much good an opinion poll does, since taxpayers' "opinions" about their tax bills are not consistent with reality. Indeed, the poll shows that more Republican voters than Democrats believe their incomes taxes have decreased. The poll shows perceptions of income taxes, which I guess will help politicians' messaging.

Adam Peck of ThinkProgress: "Republicans are trying to lure Jewish voters from the Democratic Party by using Israel and anti-Semitism as wedge issues and by creating a campaign -- that turns the story of Jewish slavery into something of a quip -- to target millennials.... The 'Jexodus' that Trump promoted to his 59 million followers?... [T]he entire 'Jexodus' operation is the brainchild of Jeff Ballabon, a far-right Trump campaign adviser in his mid 50s.... [T]he Republican fixation on Omar [Ilhan]'s comments appear to have little to do with combating anti-Semitism. If anything, the party has spent the last three years demonstrating a willingness to tolerate or even openly embrace anti-Semites and engage in anti-Semitism themselves when politically expedient." --s

Presidential Race 2020

David Siders of Politico: "In the first and earliest test of ... [Beto O'Rourke]'s appeal outside his home state, O'Rourke chewed through the news cycle, attracting crowds and a deluge of media attention that followed him from coffee shops to town halls to sidewalks in southeastern Iowa.... The celebrity splash that marked his first day as a presidential candidate -- his visit was preceded the evening before by a Vanity Fair cover story -- generated a backlash among some Democrats frustrated by the fanfare surrounding his launch, and by what they viewed as a double standard applied to O'Rourke in a field flush with women and candidates of color.

Graph Massara of Politico: "Sen. Kamala Harris on Thursday called out Vice President Mike Pence for limiting his one-on-one meetings with women, saying the practice is' outrageous.' Pence told The Hill in 2002 that he 'never eats alone with a woman other than his wife,' according to a profile of his wife Karen Pence in The Washington Post.... 'I disagree with most of what the vice president stands for, when he makes decisions about our LGBTQ community in a way that doesn't understand that they should be entitled to full equality and all rights under the law as any other American,' Harris said.... Harris' comments came on the heels of a condemnation of Pence by fellow 2020 Democratic contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), which was itself a response to possible candidate and former vice president Joe Biden calling Pence 'a decent guy.'... Biden has since walked back his 'decent' comment, clarifying that 'there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights.'"

Sergeant Schultz Is Still Running for President. Rebecca Morin of Politico: “Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO who is exploring a run for the presidency as an independent, apologized to two Democratic candidates after claiming he had spent more time with the military than anyone else in the 2020 field. 'I apologize to @PeteButtigieg and @TulsiGabbard who served our country honorably,' Schultz tweeted. 'In that moment I made something that should unite us all, about me. I made a mistake and I apologize.'" Both Buttigieg & Gabbard have served in combat zones, & Buttigieg is still in the Naval Reserve. "Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a veteran of the Afghanistan War, called out Schultz on Twitter, saying he did not see a Starbucks when he was deployed in Afghanistan." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: On the other hand, Schultz had a great excuse: “Schultz noted during his interview that 'Starbucks has built 50 stores that are adjacent and close to military installations.'” Also too, Schultz said he had become "great friends" with some military brass. (To be fair, "In 2013, when Schultz was still CEO, Starbucks pledged to hire a total of 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018. The company has hired over 21,000 veterans and military spouses since the pledge." Hiring vets as baristas, IMO, is not "spending time with the military.") As far as I can tell, Schultz has not served in the military at all.

Rick Rojas & Kristin Hussey of the New York Times: "The Connecticut Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the firearms industry on Thursday, clearing the way for a lawsuit against the companies that manufactured and sold the semiautomatic rifle used by the gunman in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The lawsuit mounted a direct challenge to the immunity that Congress granted gun companies to shield them from litigation when their weapons are used in a crime. The ruling allows the case, brought by victims' families, to maneuver around the federal shield, creating a potential opening to bring claims to trial and hold the companies, including Remington, which made the rifle, liable for the attack. The decision represents a significant development in the long-running battle between gun control advocates and the gun lobby."

SPLC Fires Dees for ... Something. Melissa Brown & Brian Edwards of the Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser: "The Southern Poverty Law Center fired Morris Dees, the nonprofit civil rights organization's co-founder and former chief litigator. SPLC President Richard Cohen said in a statement Dees' dismissal over his misconduct was effective on Wednesday, March 13. When pressed for details on what led to the termination, the organization declined to elaborate.... Dees, 82, co-founded the Montgomery-based organization in 1971.... Dees' biography appeared scrubbed from the SPLC's website as news broke of his termination on Thursday afternoon."

The Guardian is live blogging the global students strike for action on climate change. --s

Adam Clymer of the New York Times: "Birch Bayh, the liberal former senator from Indiana whose work in Congress had an enduring impact on American life -- in protecting women from sex discrimination in education, guaranteeing 18-year-olds the right to vote and providing for the removal of a sitting president -- died on Thursday at his home in Easton, Md. He was 91.... Mr. Bayh, a Democrat who served in the Senate from 1963 to 1981, drove some of the most historic legislation of his era. He was the principal architect of two constitutional amendments: the 25th, which dealt with presidential disability and vice-presidential vacancies, and the 26th, which gave 18-year-olds the vote in both state and federal elections. He was a chief Senate sponsor of the failed Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine in the Constitution protections against discrimination on the basis of sex.... And he championed Title IX, drafting the language for that landmark federal legislation, which barred sex discrimination at schools and colleges and greatly expanded sports programs for women."

Sam Roberts of the New York Times: "Harry R. Hughes, a Democrat whose landslide victory in the 1978 election for governor of Maryland delivered a decisive rebuke to the culture of corruption epitomized by two of his predecessors, Spiro T. Agnew and Marvin Mandel, died on Wednesday at his home in Denton, Md. He was 92."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Britain. Heather Stewart, et al., of the Guardian: "Brexit is set to be delayed by at least three months, after parliament opted overwhelmingly to request an extension to article 50 on another day of divisive votes that exposed the split in Theresa May's fractured cabinet. The prime minister is now expected to bring her twice-defeated Brexit deal back to parliament on Tuesday, after she narrowly retained control of the next steps of the process. The votes, the last in a series of vital parliamentary decisions on Brexit over several days, mean that Britain's departure from the EU should not now take place before 30 June and gave the prime minister a window to resuscitate her plan."

New Zealand. Charlotte Graham-McLay, et al., of the New York Times: "A gunman opened fire on two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, killing multiple people in what the country's prime minister called 'an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.' The police said one person was in custody, but they were unsure if there were other people involved. The country's police commissioner, Mike Bush, warned residents of central Christchurch to stay indoors and the police asked mosques to close." ...

     ... New Lede: "Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a terrorist attack that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as 'an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.'" Also: "Before the shooting, someone appearing to be the gunman posted links to a white-nationalist manifesto on Twitter and 8chan, an online forum known for extremist right-wing discussions. The 8chan post included a link to what appeared to be the gunman's Facebook page, where he said he would also broadcast live video of the attack.... In his manifesto, he identified himself as a 28-year-old man born in Australia and listed his white nationalist heroes. Writing that he had purposely used guns to stir discord in the United States over the Second Amendment's provision on the right to bear arms, he also declared himself a fascist. Writing that he had purposely used guns to stir discord in the United States over the Second Amendment's provision on the right to bear arms, he also declared himself a fascist.&"

... The New York Times is posting updates here. ...

... Al Jazeera: "The Australian-born suspect who shot dead dozens of Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand, has published a manifesto citing ... Donald Trump and Anders Breivik, the Norwegian white supremacist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011. The 74-page dossier by Brenton Tarrant, which has been described by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as a 'work of hate', praised Trump as 'a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose'."